Computing devices often utilize a communication network or a series of communication networks to exchange data. Companies and organizations operate computer networks that interconnect a number of computing devices to support computing operations or provide services to other parties. The computing systems may be located in a single geographic location or may be located in multiple, distinct geographic locations (e.g., interconnected via private or public communication networks). For instance, larger data centers or data processing centers may include a number of interconnected computing systems that provide computing resources to customers of the data center. Using virtualization technologies, utilization of data center resources may be increased by configuring a single physical computing device to host one or more computing instances that appear to operate as independent computing devices to users of a data center.
Communications between devices in a data center or across a network are often carried over physical copper wiring, such as telephone wiring or coaxial cabling. Fiber optic communications have more recently replaced copper wiring to enable high speed data communications. Installation of copper wires or fiber optic cables may be challenging due to existing infrastructure, distance, cost, geographical barriers, and a variety of other factors. Wireless technologies have also been developed to communicate data to devices over microwave, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA, LTE, WiMAX™, Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, or other communications protocols. Wireless technologies may communicate wirelessly between towers, routers or the like and avoid some of the issues involved with installation of copper or fiber for physical communication channels, but wireless communications may often have limited range, receive interference from infrastructure or other radio signals, and have other issues. Satellites positioned over 20,000 miles above the Earth have been used in some cases to communicate with terrestrial satellite routers at radio frequencies greater than 11,000 MHz. Such satellite communications generally have high latency, however, and are thus unsuitable for many communication applications.